Selections from Subh Al-a'sha by Al-qalqashandi ― Egypt: Centers of Government and Regulations of the Kingdom, from Early Islam to the Mamluks

Subh al-A‘sha by al-Qalqashandi is a chancery clerk manual and a vital source of information on Fatimid and Mamluk Egypt which, for the first time, has been translated into English.

Completed in 1412, the text provides valuable insight into the Mamluk and earlier Muslim eras. The selections presented in this volume describe Cairo, Fustat and the Citadel and gives a detailed picture of the Fatimid (969-1172AD), Ayyubid and Mamluk (1260-1412AD) court customs, rituals and protocol, and depicts how the Mamluk Sultanate was ruled. It also contains a wealth of details covering the geography, history and state administration systems of medieval Egypt. An introduction preceding the translation contextualises al-Qalqashandi’s role and manuscript, as well as introducing the man himself, while detailed notes accompany the translation to explain and elaborate on the content of the source material. The volume concludes with an extensive glossary of terms which forms a mini-encyclopaedia of the Mamluk and Fatimid courts.

This translation will be a valuable resource for any student of medieval Islamic history.

Heba El-Toudy is an independent Researcher and Translator with a diverse experience in Islamic Art and Architecture as a lecturer, translator, editor, researcher and archivist and has participated and presented in several conferences on Islamic Art History.

Tarek Galal Abdelhamid is assistant professor of architecture at MSA University, Egypt. His previous publications include The Mamluk Army (2013), War In the Mamluk Period (2013), A Concise History of North Syria in the Mamuk Period (2013) and Lectures on Computer Applications in Archaeology (2014, 2015).